Mash X-Ride 650 Trail True to trail

There are retro bikes, and there are retro bikes. This really is a retro bike. It's not a new bike with a new engine, new electronics, new high-tech suspension and new fancy connectivity with all of your gadgets. But it is a new bike. Confused? Yeah, me too

-  Dave Manning

While a casual glance may initially deceive you, no, this isn't a Japanese trails bike from the Eighties, it is, as has already been pointed out, a brand-new motorcycle!

Despite the visual appearance bearing much more than just a passing resemblance to a certain big thumper from over 40 years ago, the Mash X-Ride is actually a brand-new motorcycle with all the hoop-jumping paraphernalia that a 21st Century vehicle requires. It might be air-cooled, but it complies with emission demands (thanks in no small part to the fuel injection system that it is equipped with), has an anti-lock braking system and, maybe the most important part to potential buyers (who already know that any new bike will comply to the aforementioned), has a two-year unlimited mileage warranty that covers parts and labour!

Mash themselves tout the bike as being a 'back-to-basic motorcycle, so you know from the outset that there's going to be little in the way of modern fripperies such as adjustable power levels, onboard sat-nav, electronic suspension or any of the other toys that top-spec production bikes are equipped with nowadays (although it does have a USB connector so you can plug in your smartphone, if you really need to). But that is a refreshing thing, and a return to the belief that pure, basic motorcycling is all that a rider actually needs.

The Asian Francophile

While Mash is a French brand, the bikes are actually made by Shineray in China, with the powerplant being a licenced version of the air-cooled Honda XR650 single, albeit in the tamer L version that has an electric start and is the same as the one that was fitted to the NX650 Dominator. And it's a punchy enough motor, really reminiscent of the big thumpers that were on the market 40 years ago, but then that is essentially exactly what it is.